Mo. Supreme Court to consider utility merger

The Missouri Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether state utility regulators properly handled the 2008 acquisition of Aquila Inc. by Great Plains Energy Inc.

A Missouri appeals court in August upheld the deal. The Kansas City Start reported Wednesday that the state high court decided to consider the case.

Several industrial electricity users and Missouri’s official advocate for residential energy consumers have argued that the state Public Service Commission wrongly excluded some evidence. The appeal also challenged whether regulators who voted on the merger had improper discussions with the utilities.

Great Plains provides electricity to 833,000 customers in Missouri and Kansas through its subsidiaries — Kansas City Power & Light and the former Aquila network.